SEPURE Developing a system of pond production for sustainable fish polyculture

SEPURE is a research and development project designed to identify sustainable strategies for pond fish farming to respond to productivity and environmental objectives by drawing on biodiversity.

The aim of the project is to provide benchmarks and operational tools on the basis of tests conducted at an experimental station and directly within the fish-farming industry.

The key objective of the SEPURE project is to design new ways of operating freshwater pond systems that are based on diversifying production of fish-farming organisms of interest – both plant and animal – and on blending these.

The aim is therefore to improve the overall productivity of the system for fish-farming purposes while at the same time reconciling better environmental integration with a fair financial return for farm operators.

The fish polyculture concept will be based on analysing current practices, jointly drawing up specifications for the system with industry representatives and on modelling the trophic links between species. Complementary experiments will be conducted at the experimental station and at the sites volunteered by fish farmers. An evaluation phase will comprise analysis of the biodiversity and functioning of the ponds followed by an environmental and economic review.

Based on these elements, decision-making tools will be proposed that will help choose which fish to stock and how to manage the ponds (i.e. combining complementary species) in relation to the context.